I Can Transfer the Side Effects of Evil Skills

Chapter 74: Chapter 74: There’s No Way to Come Up Empty Every Day

It wasn’t until nearly noon that Zou Feng left the Guangfa Gambling House and returned to the courtyard where he was recovering.

After a quick bite to eat, he rushed into his room to continue his cultivation.

As the Black Flood Dragon Gang’s casualties mounted in the extermination campaign, it was only a matter of time before he was drafted to fill the ranks.

Fortunately, the Eighth Grade was truly not far off.

Next came his daily cultivation routine: first soaking his fingers, then immersing himself in a medicinal solution.

Lately, thanks to the Celestial Immortal Joy Powder and the two types of unknown red and black Evil Pills from the Ten Directions Cultists, Zou Feng had been focusing mainly on cultivating his Chaos Finger and Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.

These two cultivation skills were the most suitable for his goal of advancing to the Eighth Grade as quickly as possible.

Once his Chaos Finger cultivation reached the level of Refined Skill, it would immediately provide him with an opportunity to advance to the Eighth Grade.

Meanwhile, the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force, as a Heart Skill that specialized in cultivating Inner Qi, would make the ”foundation” required for advancing to the Eighth Grade even more solid.

For an Entering Grade Martial Artist, cultivating Inner Qi was the most crucial part of their training.

Although the Tribulation-Indestructible Body and the Karmic Fire Red Lotus Palm also had Qi Refining effects, they were far less effective than the Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force.

The advantage of those two cultivation skills lay in their ability to provide an immediate boost to his combat strength.

The Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force, on the other hand, focused on ”nurturing Qi” and had almost no combat applications.

In practice, it was best to neglect neither: not the increase in immediate combat strength, nor the ”Qi nurturing” required to advance to a higher realm.

After finishing his maximum-intensity cultivation session, Zou Feng immediately checked his panel.

”Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force (Entering the Hall and the Room), Progress: 62%”

”Chaos Finger (Integration and Mastery), Progress: 97%”

Such progress could already be considered blindingly fast.

He had to remember that before receiving the ”gifts” from the Ten Directions Sect, his progress in these two cultivation skills had been nearly stagnant due to a lack of the necessary resources.

Yet Zou Feng was still somewhat annoyed.

He had finally managed to ”fish” successfully over the past six days, but the Evil Pills he had seized were now all gone.

Yet his Chaos Finger was still just shy of advancing to ”Refined Skill.”

’It’s not enough. I need more Celestial Immortal Joy Powder.’

’I can’t be short on the red and black Evil Pills, either. When I prepare to break through, it would be best if my Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force reached the realm of ”Integration and Mastery.”’

With these two assurances, Zou Feng reckoned that once he advanced to the Eighth Grade, he likely wouldn’t even have to fear a Seventh Grade expert.

’At that point, I won’t give a damn about some Blood-handed Butcher. If he stays out of my way, fine. But if he dares to come looking for trouble, I’ll crush him with one hand and refine him in an instant!’

’Tonight, the fishing continues! Time to get some loot drops from the Ten Directions Sect!’

Come to think of it, even though he had feigned injury and avoided participating in the campaign to exterminate the Ten Directions Sect, he had actually caused them no small amount of trouble.

Publicly, he had counter-killed two assassins from the Ten Directions Sect. Secretly, he had eliminated the traitor Ma Pingchuan and three other Ten Directions Cultists.

Few people could match his contributions.

That night, brimming with confidence, Zou Feng set out in disguise once more.

He then predictably came up empty-handed, returning home disappointed.

After moping for a day, he had to pull himself together and continue fishing.

The result was another empty haul...

However, Zou Feng’s nights of waiting weren’t a complete waste.

He had no intention of leaving those few Human Gu to their own devices, so he would occasionally find time to help them in secret.

This mainly involved having Xiaolv add some potent ingredients to the special venom they used to cultivate the Five Poison Palm.

He also arranged for them to ”accidentally” find some money to buy the Detoxification Soup.

He hoped this would allow them to ”flourish” more quickly.

But in reality, this was like pulling up seedlings to help them grow—a desperate measure that did more harm than good.

But these were rotten people with corrupt hearts who had committed many despicable deeds; they had no future to speak of in the first place.

On the morning of the third day, Wang Xingjian sent someone to invite him over.

The message was that Wang Xingjian’s injuries were recovering well and he wished to thank Zou Feng in person.

When he arrived at the Guangfa Gambling House again, it was clear that Chen Jingsheng was looking at him in a new light.

After all, the injuries Wang Xingjian had sustained from the sneak attack were quite severe.

Yet after taking the medicine from Zou Feng’s prescription, less than three days had passed, and Wang Xingjian could already get out of bed and move about freely.

’So when he said he ”knew a little about medicine,” he really wasn’t just bragging...’

Zou Feng had brought him one pleasant surprise after another, leaving Chen Jingsheng at a loss for words.

’I was just trying anything in a desperate situation, recruiting this unaffiliated Entering Grade Martial Artist in a moment of crisis, but he’s turned out to be a truly rare talent!’

’Heaven is truly on my side! With such an exceptional man to assist me, how could I possibly fail to achieve my grand ambitions?’

’The odds of obtaining that great fortuitous opportunity have also increased tremendously.’

In contrast to the soaring enthusiasm of Wang Xingjian and Chen Jingsheng, Zou Feng, who had come up empty-handed from his fishing for several days, seemed absent-minded and listless.

His mind was completely preoccupied, wondering whether he should change his ”fishing spot” that night.

There was one other thing that concerned him as well.

Despite his frenzied cultivation of the Chaos Finger and Black Tortoise Sea-Suppressing Force over the past few days, the name of the current ”number one,” Ji Changsheng, still hadn’t faded much.

The man was ridiculously tough.

’That guy is very likely a Seventh Grade Expert from the Ten Directions Sect...’

Seeing Zou Feng’s lack of spirits, the two men assumed his injuries were acting up again. So, after lunch, they didn’t press him to stay, letting him return to rest and recuperate.

Soon, night fell. Dark clouds had gathered during the day, and sure enough, a light rain began to fall in the evening.

The downpour showed signs of gradually intensifying.

After thinking it over, Zou Feng decided not to change his ”fishing spot” for now. He would stand guard for one last night.

On the contrary, a rainy night made it more likely for the ”fish” to bite.

And sure enough, even the unluckiest angler can’t possibly get skunked every single day.

Eventually, everyone gets to feast.

At that moment, in the East River, two men’s heads slowly broke the surface as they walked out from the riverbed.

Unlike the previous Ten Directions Cultist, who had been panicky and injured, these two appeared far more composed.

Although they were still far away, Zou Feng immediately held his breath, his senses on high alert as he began to observe them.

’I might have hooked a big fish this time...’

The next moment, one of the men who had come ashore stopped, took a stance, and began cultivating.

Steam, visible to the naked eye, began to rise from his body.

His clothes and hair, soaked from being underwater, were dried by his Inner Qi in just a few breaths after he began cultivating.

Even though it was still drizzling, it didn’t change the fact that he looked as if he had never even touched the water.

’With Inner Qi that profound, he has to be an Eighth Grade!’

Fortunately, although the other man was also cultivating to regulate his condition, the effect was far less impressive by comparison.

’This guy is clearly just a Ninth Grade.’

If they were two Eighth Grade experts, Zou Feng wouldn’t have hesitated for a single breath; he would have immediately turned tail and fled.

’But as things are... I should be able to handle this!’

’It’s a no-brainer that the Evil Pills carried by an Eighth Grade expert from the Ten Directions Sect would be far more potent!’

’If I can pull off this one job, I’ll more than likely be able to advance to the Eighth Grade as planned. Then I can finally stop this exhausting night fishing for a while.’

With this in mind, Zou Feng remained hidden in the dense treetops and secretly began to activate his self-created variation of the Five Poison Pile Skill: the Spider Stance.

The Toad Stance was used for Charging Power for a Burst; the Spider Stance was naturally used for Concealment, to eliminate his presence as much as possible.

Furthermore, although the Spider Stance’s charged burst was inferior to the Toad Stance’s, the explosive power it could unleash the moment he struck from hiding was not to be underestimated.

To Zou Feng, that initial attack was equivalent to a strike from the shadows, and it also came with a Critical Strike bonus.